Ex-Boston Grand Prix President Charged With Assaulting Photographer

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FILE - John Casey, CEO of the Grand Prix of Boston speaks to the media after the Public Improvement Commission heard petitions from Grand Prix Boston during a public hearing at Boston City Hall on Thursday, March 17, 2016. Staff Photo by Nancy Lane

The former Boston Grand Prix president faced a judge Thursday for an assault charge after allegedly kicking a news photographer.

John Casey, 53, was ordered to be held on $1,200 bail and to stay away from and have no contact with his alleged victim, a Boston Herald photographer. An arrest warrant for an assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charge was issued for Casey after he allegedly kicked a Boston Herald photographer in Salem District Court Wednesday afternoon.

Casey was in court that day for a hearing as part of a civil suit.

The Herald reports Casey told them the Herald photographer startled him after telling a judge he was having trouble standing in court.

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"It was an aggressive move. I felt like I was defending myself. I regret it," he reportedly told the Herald.

His assets were recently frozen by a federal judge as part of an $11 million bankruptcy case as a result of a failed IndyCar race that had been planned for Boston's Seaport District over Labor Day weekend last year, according to The Boston Globe.

Casey is due back in court on March 10 for a hearing regarding the assault charge.

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